Easter Fun!

The Easter Bunny came with lots of Bible stories, activity pads, and songs this year:) Of course, there was also a must-have chocolate bunny to enjoy!
Each year EB gets a little more creative with hiding the eggs... Daddy's golf clubs...
The chalk/magnet tray on their easel...
Oh and the EB even made a cute circle around Kaylie's bunny project from school:)
After church, and yes, I did not get good pics with them in their outfits- shame shame on me:( (that's what happens when little kids are SUPER grumpy), we went to our good friends' house for lunch and and Easter egg hunt.
Each kiddo had fun searching their backyard for colorful eggs.
Kaylie and Gabriel (uh huh... that's THE Gabriel we all hear about <3) hanging out together
William and Bruce helped all 7 kids find the eggs... Great job to the both Dads! (Karen and I enjoyed photographing and video taping!)
Such a fun way to enjoy an important holiday. We're so thankful for great friends:)
*Something really funny... with all seven of our kids, both Karen or I could have technically been pregnant and given birth to all of these children... Gabriel turns 9 this August, Kaylie turns 8 this July, Noah just turned 6, Makenzie is 5 1/2, Micah will be 4 in August, Dannen just turned 2, and Nathaniel just turned 1 in January... WHEW! Glad our kids all get along so well!!!*
Easter evening was spent back at their home, after a much needed family nap, enjoying leftovers and smores by the camp fire... perfect Easter!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, from the LaVella Family

Eggcellent Fun

What better way to decorate Easter eggs than with friends?!?! My friend Shannon and her daughter, Zoey- Kaylie's classmate, came over for an egg decorating party!
Four happy little kids, ready to color some eggs!
Makenzie was loving doing her own eggs
Big boy Dannen was dunking solo this year
Great job!
Kaylie tried to get a bit creative
We had a bunch of awesome eggs! Thanks so much to our friends for sharing such an important holiday tradition:)

Tea Tasting

Every year, the Girl Scout Council supports something called the Tea Tasting Event. Different troops within our unit put together a presentation and table representing a country.
Kaylie's Brownie Troop selected Italy.
Their table included pizza and pasta with meatballs... yum!!!
A few of the girls added their names and little drawings of things from Italy. Their troop also did a presentation with facts about Italy.
Makenzie's Daisy Troop, selected the good old USA. We had hot dogs and an amazing apple turnover dessert William and I made together.
Makenzie and her friend Hanah were so cute:)
Our Daisy Troop did a play, that I proudly choreographed and planned, about the Boston Tea Party.
No one actually had tea, but it sure was fun to work together as girl scouts and enjoy a few hours of friends and awesome food!

Five Senses

Makenzie's Kindergarten class visited The Sugarlands, a part of the Smoky Mountain National Parks. We had such beautiful weather with some pretty amazing little kids:)
The focus on this field trip was to help teach about the five senses.
Oh, yes, it was kinda early, and Makenzie was so excited the previous night, that she barely slept... hahaha she'll totally love me for this picture when she grows up:P
Up first was TOUCH... they played the "Hug a Tree" game where they partnered up and searched for trees that felt the same from when they were blindfolded. I was surprised that no one face-planted on the ground!
Then came SIGHT... each Kindergartner was given a magnifying glass and told to search the area for anything interesting. Makenzie was very interested in the lace-like leaves.
Next came HEARING... everyone listened to a recording of different types of animals found in the Smoky Mountains. Kudos to the hiking guide for getting everyone quiet enough to hear the noises:)
Oh the SMELL sense... the kids had to guess what scent from their surroundings that was hidden in a small container. Thankfully it wasn't a dead skunk, just the smell of maple syrup!
Finally, came TASTE... lunch could not have come soon enough! Tons of little kids devouring yummy lunches ended a great day. I am very thankful to have spent some quality time with Makenzie and her friends... definitely one of my favorite field trips to date:)

BUSY Family!!!

Whew... this month is seriously going by fast! It seems as if each and every one of us has a huge "to-do" list.

William's theatre has been rockin'!!! It's such a great feeling hearing compliments from friends of friends about The Forge Cinemas and it's staff. William works his tail off to make sure things run above and beyond for everyone involved with the theatre-going experience. There is a HUGE "Rod Run" event in Pigeon Forge this weekend. That's where the entire main road running through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg is lined with cars, old and new. It's absolutely insane! Fingers crossed the business will be great with everyone in town and a "Rio" opening tomorrow:)

Kaylie has been studying a lot this entire month. The TCAP testing begins tomorrow and ends next Wednesday. She brought home yet another straight A report card, with two of the "A's" at 100% and 101%! Kaylie also graduated into the Phase 2 of being a "Super Reader"... three more to go and she's at the top of the school for reading:)

Makenzie went from a little Kindergartner to a very-ready-to-be first grader this month. Her reading skills are amazing, as she's been plowing through the first grade reading book at school. Makenzie's report card showed straight "S's" for the fifth time in a row! She will be getting tested on important skills needed to move into first grade, such as her address, phone number, and birth date.

With a totally free schedule, our little guy is on a roll with being a 2 year old. Dannen is officially potty trained during the waking hours... only uses pull-ups during nap and bed times. We're very proud of him and learning to "hold it" while out and about:) He talks up a storm lately... sometimes we have to get him to slow down and take a break, with fear of him exploding with excitement over what he has to say. I love the conversations and interactions we can all enjoy.

This week was full of fun things for me to enjoy... Daisy Troop meetings, long day of cleaning a huge mansion and a small rental needing tons of TLC, planning for our family and extra curricular activities, and a field trip (that post will follow). Tomorrow is full of cleaning my home, organizing my new Mary Kay products, prepping for and hosting my Mother & Daughter Thirty-One party, kid chauffeuring, and prepping food and presentation props for Saturday's Girl Scout Tea Tasting event for both girls (that'll be an awesome post!). My head feels overloaded just typing this lol

With one Spring field trip done already (Makenzie and I went to The Sugarlands in the Smoky Mountain National Park today), there are two on the horizon... Makenzie and I are going to Gatlinburg's Ripley's Aquarium on Monday & Kaylie and I are going to The Forbidden Caverns in early May. We had so much fun together and I got to photograph some pretty amazing things!!!

Our Spring Break is the last week of April. We've decided to have a "Staycation", enjoying Tennessee and our new friends:) There are talks about picnicking in the mountains, lots of sleepovers, hanging out at the movie theatre, venturing through the back roads to find the tops of the mountains... can't wait to enjoy this beautiful state with my family. I'll also enjoy sharing my photography with new clients at the Mary Kay Mother/Daughter Makeover event on April 30th!

May will be FULL FULL FULL of things to keep us busy... Girl Scout Wilderness outings, community rummage sale, my cousin's wedding in Ohio:), cleaning more homes, last days of my girls being in K & 2nd grades, class parties, little boy play dates, and our family trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We are anxious to spend time with family and celebrate, a week early, our 10th wedding anniversary on the beach:)

So, now that I've shared all the incredibly fun things ahead, what about you? LOL I'm positive there are things I forgot... happens a lot with three kids hahaha:)

More Jobs for Me=)

Some of the perks of being a stay-at-home Mom include more time with my kids, a cleaner house, and "fun" jobs here and there.

I love my children with all my heart. Being able to spend one-on-one time with each makes me smile. My girls spend most of their days at school, so that leaves very little time during the week to do special things. Homework with Kaylie & reading with Makenzie are some of my favorite moments with them. To see all the hard work spent focusing on important learning skills makes for a very happy Mommy. Dannen loves getting a lot of Mommy & Daddy time! My favorite little moments are when we sit together and rock at nap & bed time:)

I recently began cleaning homes with my friend Shannon. I've ALWAYS loved to clean... definitely my most used stress-relieving activity! I worked two days each in the past two weeks, maybe a total of 4-5 hours of cleaning a day. Good money doing something I know I'm good at. The drive time makes for great adult chats, too!

My friend Karen got me hooked on Mary Kay from the first few months of us moving to Tennessee. (Her oldest son and my oldest daughter plan to get married... so that should show how close our families have become lol) With the great "New-Consultant" special going on this month, I jumped at the chance to become a Mary Kay Independent Consultant. I know, I know, me and lots of make-up??? I've never been good at make-up or having the $ to get the right items. This is a great opportunity for me to learn and help others:) I've been using the Time-Wise Miracle Set and LOVE it!

My photography business is about to go through a few changes. I've been working really hard on some improvements and getting the word out about my skills. There hasn't been a huge push to sell myself to others, as I've enjoyed photographing nature and all the wonderful places where I live. Now that I've met new people, my opportunities are expanding. I will be debuting my new logo and ideas at the end of the month at our Mary Kay "Mother & Daughter" Makeover. I'm SO excited to photograph ladies and their families at such an important event!

Once August comes around, I will also become a Thirty-One Gifts Consultant. Talk about some AWESOME products!!! I held my very first party in March, and with paying only $64, I walked away with $260 worth of product. This upcoming Friday is my "Mother & Daughter" party. I'm hoping a bunch of our girls' friends and moms come over to shop together:) Great timing with Mother's Day around the corner!

So, that's me and what I've been up to... I'm so blessed to have the opportunities available since moving here. Not a day goes by that I don't take some time to reflect on what it's taken to get to this place in my life. Loving husband with a great career, smart and healthy children, beautiful place to call *home*, and time to do what makes me happy:) God, family, friends, photography, cleaning, looking pretty, having pretty items... sounds good to me!

Little Fireman

Dannen and I headed outside on our patio to enjoy the morning sun... With coffee in one hand and my camera in the other, I was mesmerized to see Dannen pretend to be a fireman.
Not sure what was more fun, the truck itself, or the fact that it filled up with water to splash around!
I laugh every time looking at this photo... makes me think of the movie "Big Daddy" with the little boy going to the bathroom on the wall LOL
Such a flexible kid... not sure what he was doing, but he was talking up a storm while hanging like that!
Oh yeah... that's the "I'm a tough guy" look:)
Later that day, we took a ride to find the Seymour Volunteer (Tennessee Volunteers) Fire Department at the main stop light in town. They were collecting for the department and handing out SVFD hats. Dannen was SUPER excited to wear his new, shiny white hat... too bad it only lasted an hour before getting stepped on and crushed... not even long enough to snap a picture... boo!
Dannen's room is still full of fire trucks and Dalmatian dogs. His fire truck bed is still by far the coolest kid bed we've ever had in our home. All three of our kids love playing on, in, and around it every day. I'm planning on some wall art... pics to come very soon!!!
I love my little fireman<3

Weight Loss

Okay, so the BIG plan to lose an absurd amount of weight is finally beginning to happen. I made a goal to lose up to 40 pounds by my 10th wedding anniversary, which is coming up WAY TOO FAST!

We went through a crazy weather pattern here in Tennessee that made outside workouts impossible. All of my kids decided to get sick sporadically, so any chance of getting a routine down went flying out the door. Taking on the role of Girl Scout troop co-leader meant extra fun and stress. I had a mini-vacation to Florida where all healthy food choices were on hold:)

So, now that I've given myself many excuses, ahem- that's so not what I meant to do, I have kicked myself into biting the bullet and actually getting off my butt! lol

We have an X Box system with a Kinect. Both William and I have started working out with the Biggest Loser game! I love it soooo much:) Some of the workouts have left me in so much pain... but it's definitely worth it. It's one thing to know you feel out of shape, but when you can see it and see how bad things are and possibly could be, it makes changing so much easier. Our kids laugh hysterically at me, but hey, at least working out makes for a good laugh, right?

I also began cleaning houses with my friend. She's been doing this for just over 3 years, and has a client basis of 19 families! We ride together and use her supplies... who could ask for anything better? Plus, anyone who knows me, knows I ABSOLUTELY love to clean. It's always been a stress reliever and something I can personally do to make things better for others and the environment. My OCD, thank you *Dad*, pays off in more ways than one cleaning. I get to burn lots of calories and get a great workout while getting paid!!!

Since the weather here is so gorgeous, morning/evening walks have begun. Fresh mountain air does a body good! I'll get to exercise, play with my kids, take pictures, and make memories... priceless:)

Since posting my goals, the weight loss has been minimal, but it can only go up from here...